Trekking along the high mountain trail five lonely travelers find themselves in grave danger. Caught in a fierce and unseasonal snowstorm, they must take shelter in Miyamakoori Monastery, a shrine of the yamabushi, located within a crevice near thesummit of a mountain. The yamabushi shrine offers the only refuge for travelers along the highland trail. On this night, however, a powerful spirit of Jigoku, and her demonic entourage, has come to settle an old agreement between the abbot and herself. As a cold and unspeakable darkness falls upon the monastery, the travelers must use all the resources at their disposal to survive...

"Frozen Wind" is a one-shot adventure for five characters at 5th level designed for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

OK, just finished my next map, as an inclusion to Way of the Yakuza - the new release from Rite Publishing. This being the first faction supplement for Kaidan is focused on the criminal organization of Kaidan (Japan) the infamous yakuza. Though this supplement is designed for use in an oriental setting, I think the design of this criminal organization would work for any setting. The book includeds a 1st person point of view by a yakuza member, tools for buildng yakuza PC/NPCs with traits, archetypes, feats, spells, magic items and more, then tools for building your own yakuza gang with its own stat-block. Finally an adventure location with map, adventure seeds and a full yakuza gang of mountain pass smugglers.

Here's the map included in that product - Iwaizumi, the mountain village...

Map similar to the last one, and dedicated as a sample samurai castle town for Way of the Samurai supplement for PFRPG which is currently in editing and I should get the manuscript soon for page layout and possible release in early April.

Kawashi (river city) is a medium town of 2672 individuals, most related to the samurai clan that controls this town.

Some exciting illustrations and not-so-exciting samurai house crests for my upcoming Way of the Samurai supplement for Kaidan (PFRPG). I will be creating a few more illustrations, one for each of the new class archetypes included. I've still got to make one for Yojimbo (ranger archetype), Kuge (noble samurai archetype), Teppou Bushi (arquebus wielding gunslinger), and for two Prestige Classes. I also plan to create 36 kammon altogether, with the first 12 shown below.

First illustration is of a Nitojutsu Sensei (two swords master samurai archetype):

This is the Kuge (samurai archetype) born in high family and destined to high station, as Kaidan rewards who you know, more than what you know. This guy gains samurai levels 2 levels later, getting more diplomacy and court training.

One more and I think I'm done for the day. For equal opportunity among the sexes, and in case any female gamers want to play samurai warriors in Kaidan, this is the example - Tomoe Gozan, a true samurai warrior from Japanese history. There is precedent if any ladies want to play samurai...

This one has more details, but I based off a high res photo with lots of cool details (I've never seen a Japanese bit and bridle up close, and this was shown cleanly.) This is the Yabusame, or mounted archer samurai archetype. Distance and accuracy is his specialty rather than showers of arrows, but he is deadly just the same.

This illustration is the only one with a background, because the resource photo featured him sitting on a mountain peak, which fit the concept so well, I had to include it. This is our alternate paladin class for Kaidan, called the Yamabushi...

After the release of The Curse of the Golden Spear trilogy of adventures, our free Halloween released one-shot, Frozen Wind, and 6 race, faction and haunt supplements for the Kaidan setting, we're finally readying to create a complete Kaidan GM's Handbook, a Kaidan Player's Guide and a Kaidan Bestiary. In order to pay for our art, my maps, and design by Jonathan McAnulty, T. H. Gulliver, Will McCardell and editor, Dave Paul - we've started a Kickstarter Project to get that done.

If we only collect to our Tier 1 goal we'll release a 150 page, soft cover in full color, and B/W interior, then that is all we'll release. Depending on how much we can obtain, will determine what we will produce. Our hope is to be able to hit all tiers and be able to release everything.

Here's one of the maps we want to include in the Complete Gamemaster's Guide to Kaidan, this is what makes the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2, 50 more pages for the guidebook - we want to include more maps (12 of them) for specific interesting locales in Kaidan.

Thank you, all pledgers so far - we are at 95% to goal! Though that's for Tier 1 ($4000) towards a 150 page GM's guide. We still want to fund a Player's Guide and Bestiary, but we'll see at the end of the Kickstarter in 42 days.

Some new Tier bonuses will be updated to the Kickstarter page on Monday - hard covers will be made available, plus some bonus one-shot exclusive adventures.

If you haven't checked it out, click this Kaidan Campaign Setting Kickstarter - if nothing else, Like our video and share it on your social networks, so we can get more eyes on the project...

We've reached our Tier 1 goal of $4000 and are now on to our next Tier goal of $7000 - thank you, pledgers!

Two new incentives:

All patrons of $40 or more, will receive an exclusive one-shot Kaidan adventure as we cross each tier goal, and since we've already crossed Tier 1, that means all qualifying patrons are owed one one-shot already.

We've added a $200 payment tier for anyone of the $125 tier who would prefer a hard cover book.

Patron Participation:

All patrons of any payment tier, at the completion of funding, will get access to the private Kaidan section of the Rite Forums - get access to discussions, updates, see art and maps as they are completed and get to participate in poll voting for design decisions.

Signed book level patrons ($100+) will get more in-depth discussion, access to rough draft material as it is completed, and able to pitch their own ideas, if accepted, get opportunity to write/design the content, gaining name credits in the guide books.

We're extremely happy for reaching our first goal and hope to reach the others. If you haven't pledged, please do, if you cannot, then please help spread the word!

F. Wesley Schneider, Editor in Chief at Paizo Publishing just became a backer to the Kaidan Kickstarter project, and has officially endorsed the product on my Facebook page! That's always good news!

We've just got 20 days left, and though we've reached our basic funding, we really want to produce the products for the higher tiers. If you haven't become a backer, please join, if not, then please help spread the word!

Add to that Wes Schneider has agreed to write the forward to the Kaidan GM's Guidebook. Since Wes it the resident Gothic Horror guru on the Paizo staff, as Ustalav is his baby within the Golarian setting, he's ideal to introduce Kaidan's horror offering to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

With just over 3 days left in the Kaidan Campaign Setting Kickstarter, and $610 to go to reach our next tier goal ($7000), we could surely use some last minute pledges to help us get there (hint, hint...)

Jonathan McAnulty posted as an update to the Kickstarter, a look at the tentative outline for the Campaign Guide...

Kaidan Game Master's GuideA suggested Outline

note: The following is subject to change without notice to the general public

Introduction: Welcome to Kaidan In which we peruse and overview the setting.

Interlude the First, providing a brief bit of colorful fiction

Chapter 1: A Brief History of KaidanBeing a discussion of the coming of the Kami in the time before time; of the coming of the Yokai, the Anu and the Korobokuru; of the rise of the children of the Sun; of the the Colonization of Wa; also and account of the Oni Wars, the rise of the Samurai and the Shogun, the Curse, and a summary of Kaidan today

Interlude the Second, providing another bit of fictional entertainment

Chapter 2: The Races of KaidanContaining a description of the prominent race of the islands, humans, as well as descriptions of the yokai, korobokuru, and other races such as the Kami and the Oni

Interlude the Third, in which we read yet another piece of fiction, this time with a more spiritual bent

Chapter 3: The Religions of KaidanBeing a scholarly account of Yokinto, Zaoism, the Yamabushi and other cults and sects of interest.

Interlude the Fourth, in which we again retreat into fiction

Chapter 4: The Politics of KaidanA discussion of the six realms of Kaidan and how they interact with themselves and with one another. These realms being the Nobles, the Asuras, the Realm of Humanity, the Hinin-Eta, the Animal realm, and the realm of the Oni.

Interlude the fifth. Another short piece of colorful fiction describing a scene of breathtaking beauty

Chapter 5: The Geography of KaidanBeing a lengthy accounting of the regions of the archipelago, including towns, villages, customs therein and flora and fauna surrounding the same.

Interlude the sixth, still yet more descriptive verbiage to set the mood.

Chapter 6: Life in KaidanIn which we provide information concerning the meaning of being Kaidanese, including the attitudes, customs, and experiences of its people.

Interlude the seventh, in which the fiction becomes rather creepy

Chapter 7: Death in Kaidan Being an account of the truth and nature of the cycle of death in Kaidan so that the GM may best handle the necessary and frequent demise of would be heroes and villains.

Interlude the eighth, in which our fiction aided escapism contemplates a deed of daring-do

Chapter 8: Adventuring in Kaidan Containing all the necessary ingredients for a dutiful GM to provide motivation, equipment and challenges for his players.

Interlude the ninth, our penultimate offering of mood shaping fiction

Chapter 9: The Magic of Kaidan Being an esoteric and meandering contemplation of the arcane and divine energies of the islands and of the beings that utilize these energies; also containing a sample of spells unique to the lands of the noble dead.

Interlude the tenth, containing a final bit of fictional flavor

Chapter 10: GMing in KaidanBeing scholarly essays on the oriental mindset, horror, honor and the proper tone for a foray into Kaidan.

We have reached our Tier 2 goal of $7K to give us a 200 page Kaidan GM's Guide, and now for a "Hail Mary" play by Steve Russell. He's decided to release the Player's Guide in 32 page increments at $1250 each (we need about $675) to reach the first increment and hopefully release something more than a GM's Guide. We have 50-ish hours left to accomplish this.

Entombed far below the earth, brave warriors awaken in darkness, with no memory of who they are or how they came to be there. Now these warriors must ascend out of the depths. Yet their greatest challenge will not be the deadly traps or fearsome foes which stand between them and the surface. Rather, it will be discovering their own selves and coming to terms with who they are and what they have done to earn a place in the hellish dungeon of Botai-yami. "Up from Darkness" is a one-shot adventure by Jonathan McAnulty, designed for 7th level adventurers, and set in the dread realm of Kaidan. Perfect for a 4-6 hour session of play, the module presents a unique challenge where death, though it come often, is only a momentary setback.

Working on a new set of maps for a possible upcoming new product line for my Kaidan setting. Something I call, the Haiku of Horror series which will consist of a set of labeled GM maps, and unlabeled players maps created at 1" = 5' scale (sliced pages so you can tape together the whole map for tabletop use). These will be detailed encounter locations, and not adventure modules, though the product will include statted monsters and NPCs at varying CR each with personal agendas and back story, associated statted traps, haunts, hazards, curses, and magic items, plus a presented haiku that illucidates the mystery at a given location.

The first location for this product idea is Autumn Moon Bathhouse, as a bathhouse makes an iconic location in a Japanese setting. Bathhouses serve as a place for your daily bath (obviously), but also serves as a fine dining restaurant, as a sake tavern, as a gambling/gaming hall, sometimes an exclusive arrangement with a geisha house, perhaps as a brothel and yakuza headquarters in a given community, or as a mountainside resort.

The site will be presented with a ghost and haunting as it's included encounter, using the Japanese horror trope of long, black wet hair. So here's the included Haiku for this one...

So I've already created the rough draft for the intended product that will feature these maps - the Haiku of Horror series #1, which is obviously a map product of iconic Japanese locations that will come with complete GM labeled maps and room-by-room gazetteer, as well as an article on the subject of Japanese bathing tradition and public bath houses. The product will also include sliced versions of the maps at full scale (1" = 5'). In order to make this product more useful it will include a complete complex encounter, not a full module, but enough seeds to offer opportunities everywhere.

The main encounter features a unique and distinctly Japanese ghost woman with long black, animated hair that can make physical attacks to vicitms. It comes as a custom ghost template (yurei no kami), as well as 3 custom haunts and a curse. The ghost will include some unique new ghost special attacks (not currently in Pathfinder ghost template). Also stated NPCs with background agendas, some having nothing to do with the haunting, some just other side ventures that could result in a visit to this bath house.

I just got Justin Sluder, who is one of the authors of Rite Publishing's Faces of the Tarnished Souk for Coleseum Morpheuon, Rite's enigmatic setting in the dreamscape, known for creative multi-class and multi-CR versions of specific character builds. He will be looking over my mechanics and creating varying CR versions of the ghosts, ghouls and exotic class options from the Kaidan setting. I consider this a win!

Due to the long development period and subsequent release for the Kaidan campaign setting books which isn't until October 2013, I fear there's going to be a dirth of Kaidan products in the interim. I want to have something available in that time, so the Haiku of Horror series will fill that bill.

I'm calling it the Haiku of Horror series, as each location will feature an ellucidating haiku to emphasis that particular bit of horror at each given location. The bath house will be focusing on the Japanese horror trope of long, black wet hair, so the corresponding haiku for this one is...

The great bell of the Kinogasa-Taisha shrine has a history almost as colorful as the village in which it dwells. The villagers believe it is the ringing of the bell, during the annual rice planting festival, which brings them such a bountiful harvest each and every year, and they cherish it above all they own. Though the bell has seen rebellion, death, and destruction in its time, it has always rung true, each and every dawn.

Until now.

Now, the bell lies cursed and its dread tones strike fear in all who hear it. As the planting season and the time for the annual festival draws nigh, the plight of the villagers, as expressed by the local priest, has reached the ears of officials in the capital, and imperial exorcists have been sent to deal with the problem. These investigators must deal with angry ghosts, hungry ghouls and dark magics as they seek to unwind the mystery of the bell and its curse.

The Tolling of Tears is a PFRPG compatible adventure for 3rd level characters set in Rite Publishing's dark realm of Kaidan

Available as a PDF download for $4.99 or as a soft cover full color POD printed module for $9.99

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